The Burying Place

Stride realized that Migdalia Vega was the first person he had met who had bothered to defend Marcus Glenn. 'You like him, don't you?'

'Damn right I do. This thing with his daughter, it's terrible, but he had nothing to do with it.'

'So do you have any idea what happened to Callie?'

Micki shook her head. 'Somebody took her. Probably somebody trying to shake down Dr Glenn. When you have money, everybody wants a piece of you.'

'But you have no idea who it could be?'

'If I did, don't you think I'd tell you? It could be anybody.'

'We're trying to figure out how somebody got into the house,' Stride told her. He added, 'You have a key, don't you?'

'Sure I do.' She folded her arms over her chest in anger. 'What, you think I had something to do with this? Is that what Mrs Glenn said? Because I would never do anything to hurt Callie. Never.'

'I didn't say you would. I was just wondering if anyone could have stolen your key.'

'No way.' Micki dug in the tight pocket of her pants and pulled out a bulging set of keys. 'The houses where I babysit, the keys are all right here. I always have them with me. I never set them down anywhere except when I go to sleep at night.'

'I have to look at all the possibilities, Micki. I'm not saying you would intentionally do something wrong, but it's easy to make a mistake. Maybe you told somebody what a nice house the Glenns have or how much money Marcus Glenn makes. Maybe a girlfriend said something to a boyfriend. Things happen.'

'I already said no,' Micki insisted. 'You think I have time to hang out in bars and drink margaritas and tell stories? You think I can park my pussy in somebody's bed when I'm working every day of the week? I already learned my lesson about boyfriends. They're happy to stick it between your legs, but they don't want to be there to watch you brush your teeth in the morning. So I'm doing this for me and my mama, and that's it.'

'OK,' Stride told her. 'I understand. If you remember talking to someone, even if it was totally innocent, I want you to call me. It's very important. This is about getting Callie back home safely.'

'I know that, but I can't tell you what happened. I didn't hear anything, OK?'

Micki's eyes darted to her feet. She knew what she'd said. So did Stride. The truth hung between them like laundry on a clothes line.

'When was the last time you babysat for Callie?' he asked.

'Last weekend, I think.'

'You think?'

'Yeah, Saturday, I guess. Dr Glenn and his wife were in Duluth for some kind of charity thing.'

'That was the last time?' Stride repeated. His voice was hard.

'I guess.'

Micki attacked the wet leaves on the grass again. Some of the leaves stuck to her tennis shoes.

'Does Dr Glenn call you to look after Callie when his wife isn't around?'

'Sometimes.'

'Mrs Glenn was in Minneapolis yesterday, right?' he asked her.

'Yeah, I heard that.'

'So did he call you yesterday?'

Micki shook her head. 'No.'

'You weren't there?' 'No.'

'So where were you last night?'

'Here,' she said. 'I was home.'

'Alone?'

'Just me and my mama. You can ask her.'

Stride waited. Micki still didn't look at him.

'What kind of car do you drive, Micki?' he asked.

'A white Ford pickup.'

'One of the neighbors saw your truck at the Glenns' yesterday,' he lied.

'They must have had the wrong day. I wasn't there.'

I didn't hear anything, OK?

'I think you were,' Stride told her. 'You were in the house last night when Callie disappeared. I think you better tell me what the hell happened.'

Chapter Seven

'All right,' Micki admitted. 'I was there. Big fucking deal. I don't know what happened.'

'Marcus Glenn lied to us,' Stride snapped. 'He said he was alone in the house.'

'It's not what you think. This isn't about Callie, and it wasn't Dr Glenn's idea. I begged him not to get me involved. The last thing I needed was cops all over me, OK?'

'Why?'

Micki's round face flushed with anger. 'Why the hell do you think? I'm illegal. So's my mama. I knew what would happen if I stuck around. Cops asking me questions. Reporters taking my picture. You don't think someone would hook on to the fact that I don't belong here? You don't think that would make the papers? Next thing you know we'd be on a plane to Mexico.'

'I don't care about your immigration status,' Stride told her.

'Yeah, until you don't need me any more.' Micki threw down the rake.

'Why did Marcus Glenn lie for you?'

'Because he's a good man! He's not like the papers say. He's helped me ever since I met him.'

'Are you sleeping with him?' Stride asked. 'Were you with him in his bedroom last night?'

Micki stormed toward the pile of leaves and kicked her way through it, scattering them across the grass. Her chest swelled with fast, angry breaths. She jabbed a finger at Stride. 'That's what you think, huh?

He helps me because I fuck him? Well, fuck you, cop, you can go to hell.'

'Micki, we can do this right here, or we can do this in a cell in Grand Rapids,' Stride told her. 'Got it? Now answer my question.'

'The answer is no! You think a man like Marcus Glenn needs a girl like me? If he said the word, you can bet I'd straddle him and give him the ride of his life, because I owe him. But he'd never do that.'

'I don't believe you. You were there in his bedroom, weren't you? You're trying to protect him.'

'I was not with him! I was in the apartment over the garage watching television. I fell asleep. That's it. I didn't see him until he came into my room and told me about Callie.' Micki's eyes widened, and she stomped toward Stride. 'You son of a bitch, that's what you wanted, isn't it? You wanted to know if Dr Glenn was alone. I'm telling you, he didn't do anything!'

'Start at the beginning. Tell me everything.'

'You see? Never trust a cop. I'm not saying a fucking thing.'

'You're not helping yourself, Micki,' Stride said. 'When did you go over to the Glenn house?'

Micki shrugged. 'Yesterday afternoon.'

'Did Dr Glenn call you?'

'Yeah, he said his wife had to go to the Cities and could I come over and watch Callie. So I said yes.'

'When was this?'

'About two o'clock. I stayed with Callie all afternoon, gave her dinner, and I put her to bed around seven. Dr Glenn had work to do, so he asked if I'd stick around through the evening and check on Callie again before I left.'

'Where did you spend the evening?'

'They have a pool table in the basement. I played pool and listened to music on the stereo.'

'Did you see or hear anything during the evening? Did anyone come or go in the house? Were there any phone calls?'

'No, there was nobody but me and Dr Glenn as far as I know. The phone rang a couple times, but he must have picked up the calls in his office.'

'Then what?'

'Around ten o'clock, Dr Glenn came downstairs and said his wife was stuck in the Cities because of the fog. He asked me if I'd spend the night in the garage apartment in case Callie needed anything. I do that every now and then. It's no big deal. I wasn't too crazy about being on the roads, so I stayed.'

'How did Dr Glenn seem?'

Micki shook her head. 'He was fine. Nothing was wrong. Callie was sleeping.'

'What time did you go into the garage apartment?'

'I don't know, about ten fifteen, I guess.'